“Safeguarding” - the most overused and misunderstood term ever?

[Notcontent]

I think seems to pop up everywhere.
There was a strange thread the other day where the OP though there was a “safeguarding” issue because her elderly FIL said to someone that he didn’t know who she was.
And just now read another thread where someone said that they had received a letter from the school about not having mixed sex sleepovers due to safeguarding issues.

Obviously there are specific requirements that apply in schools, etc. But otherwise the term is being banded about in quite a ridiculous way...

Buggeroff - so funny. Absolute perfect school admin material, you are.

Where do schools go to find you all???

Wow nasty sexism

Typing certificates ffs

So depressing on MN of all places

Blimey the level of belittling towards school admin staff is horrible. All safeguarding training stresses the importance of any adult who has interactions with children as part of their role. The admin staff at my school are usually the front line when it comes to pupil and parent queries and will often be "the missing piece" of the jigsaw.

Being a teacher doesn't make you any better or more knowledgeable than admin staff, you should all get the same training at level 1. Most of our admin staff are in fact level 2 trained due to their work with students.

And it rarely lasts 3 hours. 45 minutes and a handout to sign when we last did it in July.

Two lots of 1.5 hours over the last month here. There is another session just before Christmas specifically about FGM. But I only work in the school office so clearly know nothing.... my colleague also “only works in the school office” but is deputy safeguarding lead, surprising since she obviously is nothing more than a typist.....

“Safeguarding” is very often misused and misunderstood...... as are school administrators apparently....

Wow there are some nasty people on this thread. The staff in our school office and treated with the respect they deserve.

are

Wooah, it wasn't me "belittling the admin staff" so no quoting my words back ta.

No quoting your words.... What are you, five?

Posters are belittling admin staff

My whole job revolves around safeguarding children and young people and I agree that the word is overused and frequently misunderstood on MN.

The snarky comments about school admin staff are completely unnecessary and irrelevant though. Incidentally, it's the parents at my school who talk down to the admin staff thinking they're superior who are most likely to come in bleating about "safeguarding issues" that aren't actually safeguarding issues.

On a slightly more positive note, it a very good thing that safe guarding is being discussed and out in the open whether or not people use the term erroneously.

I don't think it matters that people are using it to identify that someone might be at risk or that issues could arise from [whatever]. Rather the wrong terminology than someone ending up in a bad situation.

RudeZebra wow you are actually rude aren't you. You like this in real life?

The nasty and condescending tone towards school admin staff is disgusting. People seem to forget what an integral part of their children's lives, admin staff are.

OP people use safeguarding when they mean 'saftey'. Yes it's over used. But the context of the thread usually helps showing wether people mean official safeguarding or a saftey issue. So don't really see the problem.

Yes, I feel the same about 'GDPR' breach leghairdontcare, often, these supposed breaches really aren't ones! I would say safeguarding is not that hard to get your head around, I have had to do so in the last 10 months as so many 'professionals' that should understand the difference between a safeguarding issue and a data protection one, just don't!

I should add the 'admin' staff are much more aware of the difference.

Notcontent and Zebra

Its interesting that you find "safeguarding" overused and misunderstood but then don't explain what it actually is.

I can see that in Zebra's case its because she likes to feel superior, but why wouldn't Notcontent enlighten us all.

Hmm-I’m not entirely sure.
Safeguarding (as is drummed into us) is everyone’s responsibility.
Safeguarding does encompass thinking about children crossing roads and mixed sex sleepovers as it’s literally ‘keeping children safe’
Child protection is a different matter.
I’m not sure the distinction is clear enough.

People are so rude about admin staff in all areas of work.

Rude Zebra . You really live up to your name don't you [Hmm]

I think safeguarding is a bit of a red herring as a word. In CSC the word most often used is risk.

Section 47/Section 17 you assess the risk of significant harm and you protect against that. It's hard for me to understand how people on here can judge a situation as a person in need of 'safeguarding' when they don't really have full knowledge or understanding of the actual risk.

A same sex sleepover for example might present zero risk or be extremely risky dependent on children/YP attending, environment, adults around etc. Each individual situation has so many variables that it needs individual assessment by someone who knows this from experience with casework. On MN, I don't think people really do that and immediately go for an emotional or limited knowledge judgement and deem it as a safeguarding incident.

It's so frustrating to see this because I see it daily - individuals and organisations say 'Oh X is a dealer/taking drugs/is being exploited/is abusing their dcs' without having evidence, full facts, or knowledge. That kind of stuff sticks. It's scary as it's people's lives we are talking about. YANBU OP.

I was the PP who mentioned a letter re safeguarding and having mixed sleepovers. The letter was received from the school and was headed "Safeguarding Concerns" by the HOY, so don't shoot the messenger.

As a School Governor and as a committee member for a youth organisation I have to have safeguarding training.

A few years ago, I noticed a young child, KS1, talking and behaving in a way that gave an impression that he had possibly been watching porn (had a much older sibling and and a chaotic family) I reported it to the HT (that was an embarrassing conversation). It is not just teachers/social workers that have duty of care when it comes to safeguarding.

I think maybe the school had more knowledge on the mixed sleepover issue? If a referral came in saying there were four year 9 children having a mixed sex sleepover you'd need to identify specific risks and have information for it to be assessed, as the referrer.

"Safeguarding does encompass thinking about children crossing roads and mixed sex sleepovers as it’s literally ‘keeping children safe’ "
No. Safeguarding is a technical term and involves risk of abuse, not risk of accident.

Safeguarding is a technical term and involves risk of abuse, not risk of accident.

^this

...and abuse can come in many forms, not just physical.

Safeguarding is so important but this is secondary to instinct IMO. DS has a good friend whose father is a scout master and DB checked up to the eyeballs but never in a million years would I let them hang out together. I just have a bad feeling about the dad.

One of the saddest things I’ve seen is the Louis Theroux doc on Jimmy Saville. Poor victim saying that her grandfather had continuously abused her and men like JS took advantage as they just knew that was a victim.